Plasma concentrations of oleoylethanolamide and other acylethanolamides are altered in alcohol-dependent patients: effect of length of abstinence.

Acylethanolamides are a family of endogenous lipid mediators that are involved in physiological and behavioral processes associated with addiction. Recently, oleoylethanolamide (OEA) has been reported to reduce alcohol intake and relapse in rodents but the contribution of OEA and other acylethanolamides in alcohol addiction in humans is unknown. The present study is aimed to characterize the plasma acylethanolamides in alcohol dependence. Seventy-nine abstinent alcohol-dependent subjects (27 women) recruited from outpatient treatment programs and age-/sex-/body mass-matched healthy volunteers (28 women) were clinically assessed with the diagnostic interview PRISM according to the DSM-IV-TR after blood extraction for quantification of acylethanolamide concentrations in the plasma. Our results indicate that all acylethanolamides were significantly increased in alcohol-dependent patients compared with control subjects (p < 0.001). A logistic model based on these acylethanolamides was developed to distinguish alcohol-dependent patients from controls and included OEA, arachidonoylethanolamide (AEA) and docosatetraenoylethanolamide (DEA), providing a high discriminatory power according to area under the curve [AUC = 0.92 (95%CI: 0.87-0.96), p < 0.001]. Additionally, we found a significant effect of the duration of alcohol abstinence on the concentrations of OEA, AEA and DEA using a regression model (p < 0.05, p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively), which was confirmed by a negative correlation (rho = -0.31, -0.40 and -0.44, respectively). However, acylethanolamides were not influenced by the addiction alcohol severity, duration of problematic alcohol use or diagnosis of psychiatric comorbidity. Our results support the preclinical studies and suggest that OEA, AEA and DEA are altered in alcohol-dependence during abstinence and that might act as potential markers for predicting length of alcohol abstinence.

[Psychopathological comorbidity in cocaine users in outpatient treatment]. / Comorbilidad psicopatológica en consumidores de cocaína en tratamiento ambulatorio.

Cocaine addiction is a growing health problem and among its complications highlights the high prevalence of mental disorders co-occurring with abuse and dependence. This psychopathological comorbidity varies according to the time of consumption and the age of the patient. Early detection of psychopathological disorders associated with drug consumption is necessary to optimize health care and to improve the prognosis. The main aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence and characteristics of psychopathological comorbidity in a population of subjects seeking outpatient treatment for cocaine use. We recruited 110 subjects using cocaine by nasal insufflations evaluated with the PRISM (Psychiatric Research Interview for Substance and Mental Disorders), a semi-structured diagnostic interview that differentiates primary mental disorders from those induced by the drug. This population presented 86.4% male and had a mean age of 36.5. They displayed a pathological use of cocaine of 7 years and the presence of psychopathology was associated with a higher number of DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- IV-TR) criteria for substance dependence. The lifetime prevalence of some psychopathological comorbidity was 61.8%, highlighting mood disorders (34.5%), followed by anxiety disorders (22.7%) and psychotic disorders (15.5%). About 20% showed antisocial personality disorder and 21% borderline personality disorder. From among mood and psychotic disorders, the induced disorders were more frequent, while the primary disorders were more prevalent in anxiety.

Evaluation of plasma-free endocannabinoids and their congeners in abstinent cocaine addicts seeking outpatient treatment: impact of psychiatric co-morbidity.

Cocaine is associated with serious health problems including psychiatric co-morbidity. There is a need for the identification of biomarkers for the stratification of cocaine-addicted subjects. Several studies have evaluated circulating endocannabinoid-related lipids as biomarkers of inflammatory, metabolic and mental disorders. However, little is known in substance use disorders. This study characterizes both free N-acyl-ethanolamines (NAEs) and 2-acyl-glycerols in abstinent cocaine addicts from outpatient treatment programs who were diagnosed with cocaine use disorder (CUD; n = 88), and age-/gender-/body mass-matched healthy control volunteers (n = 46). Substance and mental disorders that commonly occur with substance abuse were assessed by the semi-structured interview 'Psychiatric Research Interview for Substance and Mental Diseases' according to the 'Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision' (DSM-IV-TR) and plasma-free acyl derivatives were quantified by a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry system. The results indicate that plasma acyl derivatives are altered in abstinent cocaine-addicted subjects with CUD (CUD subjects). While NAEs were found to be increased, 2-acyl-glycerols were decreased in CUD subjects compared with controls. Multivariate predictive models based on these lipids as explanatory variables were developed to distinguish CUD subjects from controls providing high discriminatory power. However, these alterations were not influenced by the DSM-IV-TR criteria for cocaine abuse and dependence as cocaine trait severity measure. In contrast, we observed that some free acyl derivatives in CUD subjects were found to be affected by the diagnosis of some co-morbid psychiatric disorders. Thus, we found that the monounsaturated NAEs were significantly elevated in CUD subjects diagnosed with mood [N-oleoyl-ethanolamine and N-palmitoleoyl-ethanolamine (POEA)] and anxiety (POEA) disorders compared with non-co-morbid CUD subjects. Interestingly, the coexistence of alcohol use disorders did not influence the circulating levels of these free acyl derivatives. In summary, we have identified plasma-free acyl derivatives that might serve as reliable biomarkers for CUD. Furthermore, we found that monounsaturated NAE levels are also enhanced by co-morbid mood and anxiety disorders in cocaine addicts. These findings open the way for the development of new strategies for cocaine addiction diagnosis and treatment.

Lipid transmitter signaling as a new target for treatment of cocaine addiction: new roles for acylethanolamides and lysophosphatidic acid.

This review analyzes the roles of lipid transmitters, especially those derived from the cleavage of membrane phospholipids, in cocaine-associated behaviors. These lipid signals are important modulators of information processing in the brain, affecting transmitter release, neural plasticity, synaptogenesis, neurogenesis, and cellular energetics. This broad range of actions makes them suitable targets for pharmaceutical development of cocaine addiction therapies because they participate in the main cellular processes underlying the neuroadaptations associated with chronic use of this psychostimulant. The main lipid transmitters reviewed here include a) acylethanolamides and acylglycerols acting on cannabinoid receptors, such as anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol; b) acylethanolamides that do not act on cannabinoid receptors, such as oleoylethanolamide; c) eicosanoids derived from arachidonic acid, including prostaglandins; and d) lysophosphatidic acid, focusing on the role of its LPA-1 receptor. Direct experimental evidence for the significance of these lipids in cocaine-related behaviors is presented and discussed. Additionally, the roles for both their biosynthesis and degradation pathways, as well as the participation of their receptors, are examined. Overall, lipid transmitter signaling can offer new targets for the development of therapies for cocaine addiction.

Comorbilidad psicopatológica en consumidores de cocaína en tratamiento ambulatorio / Psychopathological comorbidity in cocaine users in outpatient treatment

La adicción a cocaína es un problema de salud creciente y entre sus complicaciones destaca la elevada prevalencia de comorbilidad psicopatológica. La detección temprana de los trastornos psicopatológicos asociados al consumo de cocaína es necesaria para optimizar la asistencia sanitaria y mejorar el pronóstico. El objetivo principal de este estudio es estimar la prevalencia y características de la comorbilidad psicopatológica en una población de sujetos que solicitan atención por uso de cocaína en tratamiento ambulatorio. Se reclutaron 110 consumidores de cocaína por vía nasal evaluados con la entrevista diagnóstica semiestructurada PRISM (entrevista de investigación psiquiátrica para trastornos mentales y por sustancias), que diferencia los trastornos mentales primarios de los inducidos por la droga. Esta población tuvo un 86,4% de hombres y una edad media de 36,5 años. Presentó un uso patológico de cocaína medio de 7 años, y la presencia de psicopatología se asoció a un mayor número de criterios de dependencia de cocaína según el manual DSM-IVTR (manual diagnóstico y estadístico de los trastornos mentales, 4ª edición revisada). La prevalencia de comorbilidad psicopatológica encontrada a lo largo de la vida fue del 61,8%, destacando los trastornos del estado de ánimo (34,5%), seguidos de los trastornos de ansiedad (22,7%) y de los trastornos psicóticos (15,5%). Un 20% presentó trastorno de personalidad antisocial y un 21% trastorno límite de la personalidad. Entre los trastornos del estado de ánimo y psicóticos fueron más frecuentes los inducidos, mientras que en los trastornos de ansiedad los primarios fueron más prevalentes

Cocaine addiction is a growing health problem and among its complications highlights the high prevalence of mental disorders co-occurring with abuse and dependence. This psychopathological comorbidity varies according to the time of consumption and the age of the patient. Early detection of psychopathological disorders associated with drug consumption is necessary to optimize health care and to improve the prognosis. The main aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence and characteristics of psychopathological comorbidity in a population of subjects seeking outpatient treatment for cocaine use. We recruited 110 subjects using cocaine by nasal insufflations evaluated with the PRISM (Psychiatric Research Interview for Substance and Mental Disorders), a semi-structured diagnostic interview that differentiates primary mental disorders from those induced by the drug. This population presented 86.4% male and had a mean age of 36.5. They displayed a pathological use of cocaine of 7 years and the presence of psychopathology was associated with a higher number of DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- IV-TR) criteria for substance dependence. The lifetime prevalence of some psychopathological comorbidity was 61.8%, highlighting mood disorders (34.5%), followed by anxiety disorders (22.7%) and psychotic disorders (15.5%). About 20% showed antisocial personality disorder and 21% borderline personality disorder. From among mood and psychotic disorders, the induced disorders were more frequent, while the primary disorders were more prevalent in anxiety